Tessa was hysterical and Xavier did not know how to handle it. She had been pacing the length of the hospital waiting room, clutching at her hair or at herself and crying. Her tears were a never-ending waterfall and no matter what Xavier did, it did not help her, and it made him feel useless because he knew, a simple word from Daniel would calm her down and here all his effort were in vain.

After someone had brought them to the hospital, Tessa had called Charlotte and Andrew in tears, chocking out her words and begging for them to come to Baltimore because she didn't have the strength to face this on her own.

"We'll get the next flight out," Charlotte had rushed. "We're leaving don't you worry," Is what the mother had coaxed her with, but the teenager didn't feel appeased, instead, she called every single Robertson she had on her phone contacts and repeated the whole story to them, and it occurred to her now, that maybe having all three elder brothers drop everything and come to Baltimore wasn't the best solution.

"Tessa," Xavier approached her slowly as if she were a frightened deer. "Hey, why don't you come to sit down?" He suggested and touched her arm, the girl violently flinching away from him and shaking her head, the sobs choking her.

"Hey, Bambi, come on," He tried again.

"Don't you call me that," She gritted out. "Don't you call me 'Bambi'!"

"Okay, okay," Xavier raised his hands in surrender. "But, please come sit down?"

Tessa sniffled and wiped at her blotchy cheeks, her entire body trembling with her anxiety and Xavier feared she might pass out from all the stress she was putting herself into. Holding out his hand to her, he helped her get off the floor and settled her on a chair, watching her clutch at her knees and fold into herself as she tried to calm her breathing.

"I am safe. I am safe." Her voice trembled as she inhaled deeply. "I am safe. I am safe. I am safe,"

Wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve, she looked up, her breath stopping in her throat to see the nurse roll in a bed into the hospital room, instantly recognizing the person on the bed.

"Daniel!" She jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the room, her way intercepted by two nurses. "Please! Let me see him!"

"Are you family?" They asked her.

"I am- " His fiancé she would have said, knowing only family allowed inside but stopped herself with Xavier standing behind her. "Not,"

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't go inside,"

"Please! I want to know how he is doing."

"Sorry, that is against our policy,"

"Please, I- "She wanted to say something but stopped when Xavier put a hand against her shoulder.

"Come on," He cocked his head towards the seat, leading her back as she stared ahead blankly, the shock settling in that Daniel had pushed her out of the way and got hit by a car. For her. And now she didn't even know how he was doing, how hurt he was, and if he would be all right.

It wasn't until after another 30 anxiety-filled minutes passed did she catch sight of Charlotte and Andrew.

"Charlotte!" Tessa ran to them, the parents turning towards her as she grasped at her shoulders. "They won't let me in! They won't let me in!"

"It's okay, it's all right," Charlotte calmed down the girl before her by taking her face into her hands. "Breathe, no more tears,"

She inhaled shakily before swallowing back the tears, nodding at her.

"We'll see Daniel, and then we'll let you know, okay? Just breathe,"

"Charlotte," Andrew called out to her, taking hold of his wife's hand in his own before leading her towards the room, telling the nurse they were his parents before being greeted by a doctor at the door.

Tessa watched them talk, not hearing anything but just seeing them a nod before they stepped inside, Andrew coming out after a while with Charlotte inside the room.

"He's all right," He smiled at Tessa who heaved a breath and nearly fell with the relief that flooded through her. "He just has a few bruised ribs, and a broken leg, and scraped his head on the road, but other than that, he's good. He's unconscious but we'll let you know when he's awake,"

"Thank you," She choked back the tears, grasping the father's hands in her own. "Thank you,"

"Don't thank us, child," He laughed at her. "Thank you for calling us,"

"I panicked," Tessa admitted with a sheepish smile.

"But hey, in your panic, you made the right choice,"

In the next two hours, all three brothers had arrived one by one, each of them rushing into the hospital and catching sight of Tessa before asking her about Daniel as she informed them of his current condition before they went into his room.

"Why don't you go home?" Anthony asked her once he had stepped out. "It's getting late,"

"No," She shook her head with a small smile. "I'm all right,"

"Have you gone in, yet?" Lucas asked beside his brother

"I'm not allowed," She gave the two a bitter smile. "I'm not family,"

The two brothers gave each other a look before nodding and walking away.

Tessa heaved a heavy breath before leaning forward and holding her head, feeling exhausted from all the crying and panic she had put herself through.

"Everything is all right," Xavier's voice had her jump back in surprise, completely having forgotten that he was there and gave him a grateful smile.

"Hey," Lucas's voice redirected her attention as she looked up at the daunting man standing before her in grey dress pants and a white button-up beneath a charcoal grey overcoat. "Come," He took hold of her small hand and made her stand up.

"Where?" She looked at him in confusion, her bewilderment growing to see both Anthony and Nathan hammering the nurses with questions.

"Shh..." Luke whispered before leading her towards Daniel's room, her heart jumping up in her throat to realize they were smuggling her in. Sliding open the door, he nudged her inside as he gave a look to his brothers before closing the door behind him.

The tears welled up in her eyes again to see Daniel lying on the hospital bed, a bruise on his jaw and cheek with his lip cut and a bandage across his forehead, his leg in a cast and elevated as he was talking to his mother who held his hand and chuckled at something he said.

"Tessa," Charlotte smiled to see her and instantly Daniel's gaze shifted to her as he tried to give her a smile but ended in a grimace because of the bruises.

"Hey, Bambi," He called out to her softly and Tessa broke. A wail escaped her as she threw herself at him and sobbed into his chest with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Good God, woman, I'm all right," He tried to lighten the mood as she cried breathlessly and shook her head.

"We'll leave you two for a minute," Charlotte told Daniel who nodded and watched his mother and brother step out of the room.

"Tessa, baby, come on," He murmured into her hair, hugging her close as she shook her head at him, wanting to say something but being unable to say it.

Xavier stood up from his place on the seat and made his way towards the three brothers who stood not too far away from the door.

"They're so in love," The younger one, Nathan, spoke up with a shake of his head as Xavier froze behind them.

"You see it, too?" The eldest, Anthony, looked towards him.

"I'm not blind, Tony,"

"Daniel's been in love with her for a while," Lucas shrugged. "Called me up the day he realized, and when I asked him what he would do about it, he said nothing since she was dating this other boy,"

"Yeah, yeah!" Nathan nodded. "What was that boy's name?"

"Xavier," Tony remembered. "Yeah, I got the call too, Harper was so excited, all in vain," He chuckled.

"What about Tessa though?" Nate inquired.

"She's still growing, I doubt she has ever felt love before given her history," Lucas shrugged.

"No, I'm sure she knows love because she loved Ryan,"

"That's her brother, Tony, seriously, you want her to love Danny like a brother?"

"Not, Nate, but all I'm saying is that she is no stranger to love,"

"Sibling love maybe, but that intimate love, I'm not so sure about," Lucas stated and turned, catching sight of Xavier behind them and raising an eyebrow. "Can we help you?"

"Oh... no, I'm sorry," He stammered and took a step back. "I lost my way," He rushed out before moving away, his heart squeezing inside his chest as his breath felt tight and he ran out of the hospital and into the chilly December air. Trying his hardest to get his bearing but instead fell onto his knees, his naked fingers sinking into the snow as tears dropped onto the white pavement beneath him, the realization hitting him with full force.

"Go on home, Bambi," Daniel murmured with a drowsy Tessa half asleep on his chest. "I'll be all right,"

"I don't want to go without you," She murmured and cuddled into his chest.

"Would you be willing to go with mom, dad, Luke, and Nate?"

"Hm?"

"They're here for the night, they came all this way because you called, and will stay until we all go off to Virginia,"

"Oh," Tessa sat up with the realization. "Right," She rubbed her eyes petulantly as Daniel had to chuckle at how cute she looked.

"I'll take them,"

"You better," He teased before handing her the car keys from the table. "Give this to dad, he can drive you guys back home,"

"Okay,"

"Sleep well, Bambi," Daniel placed a kiss on her forehead as she allowed him to linger a little longer.

"You too, Casanova," She smiled before getting off the bed and making her way out the room, instantly finding the family all together and chattering.

"Ready to go?" Andrew asked her with a smile as she nodded and handed the car keys to him.

Once at the apartment, Charlotte and Andrew took Daniel's bedroom while Tessa gave her room to Nate and Luke, neither one of them being strangers to sharing a bed since they'd done it a lot during their childhood.

"Don't you dare wet the bed, Nate," Lucas warned as they both made their way towards the bedroom.

"That was just one time, and I was fucking three!" He groaned in indignation.

"I don't trust that blasphemous mouth of yours,"

"As if you're so pious, Luke," The younger one grumbled before they closed the door.

Meanwhile, Tessa opted to pull out the 7-seater couch and sleep on that, instantly falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

She was the first one to wake, and grabbed a bowl of cereal for herself, quietly tiptoeing into her room and holding back a laugh to see the two brothers sprawled over the bed before taking out a change of clothes and heading for a shower.

Tessa left a note on the fridge which informed the next person she was going to the hospital, knowing Daniel would not have moved at all from his place beside her.

The bus ride was a silent one for her and she took the time to message Xavier asking about him and when he left and if he was all right, the girl never knowing about the conversation he had overheard.

"Hey," Tessa greeted as she stepped into the room, smiling to see Daniel sitting up in bed and reading the newspaper, Anthony asleep on the chair beside him.

"Hey, Bambi," He smiled at her as she settled down on the edge of the bed. "I'll be getting discharged later today,"

"Oh! That's great!"

"Yeah, but I'm sorry I cannot take you Christmas shopping, why don't you ask Xavier to take you?"

"It's all right," She waved dismissively. "There is no need to worry Xavier with this, I mean you can just write "from Tessa" on the cards,"

"Ha-ha, hilarious," He shook his head at her as she chuckled, Daniel looking towards his sleeping brother. "Hey, Tony. Tony! Anthony! Anthony Hugh Robertson!"

"I'm sorry Emily, it was Nate!" Tony sat up with a jump, looking around him with a dazed expression before remembering where he was, Tessa looking at him in confusion, wondering who this 'Emily' was.

"Go have breakfast," Daniel patted his shoulder, the eldest rubbing his eyes before nodding and getting up from the chair, and stretching out his muscles before walking out of the room, ruffling Tessa's hair on his way as she clicked her tongue and fixed it.

"You brothers, honestly," Tessa shook her head at Daniel and fixing the messed up strands.

"I wanted to suggest that you spend Christmas with Xavier,"

"What?" She stopped short in her actions and stared at him in confusion. "Why?"

"Take your relationship to the next level,"

"But I don't want to spend Christmas with Xavier, I want to spend it with you guys,"

"Tessa, I don't think a good idea, I mean our Christmases aren't very eventful and I think you should spend this time with Xavier,"

"Why?"

"Because I want you to enjoy your first Christmas, enjoy it and not spend that time worrying about me,"

"No, you can't do this," Tessa stood up with indignation. "I have been looking forward to this Christmas for months! Months, Daniel! And you're telling me to go spend it with Xavier?"

"You're talking about the boy as if though he is a stranger! He's your boyfriend, Tessa!"

"Compared to you, he is a stranger,"

Daniel fell silent at the words, sighing and shaking his head before rubbing a hand over the gauze across his foreheads.

"Tessa, please,"

"I love you, Daniel- "

"No," He snapped at her, stopping her short. "No, stop, you don't get to say those words because you don't know what they mean. Say them when you know what you're talking about,"

Tessa stared at him in shock, not understanding why he was behaving like this.

"You want me to go with Xavier?" She swallowed the anger in her throat. "Fine, I'll go spend Christmas with him and his family I'll spend New Year's with him,"

"Sounds great,"

"You're being a real ass about this, you know, Daniel?" Tessa spat at him and grabbed her jacket, pulling it on.

"Believe me, Tessa, it's for your betterment,"

"I beg to differ," She scoffed and walked out of the room, making her way out the hospital and taking the bus back home.

Before going back to her apartment, she entered the building next to hers and took the elevator up to the fifth floor, knocking on Xavier's door and waiting. After two minutes and a few more knocks, a drowsy and disheveled Xavier opened the door, his eyes half closed and squinted up at her.

"Tessa?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Are your mom's home?" She asked while making her way in.

"No, they left last night,"

"Would they be all right if I tagged along?" She turned around to see Xavier's state, her eyebrows knitted in bewilderment to see his puffy eyes and blotchy cheeks. "Is everything okay?" She moved towards him, taking hold of his hand before he could pull away.

"Yeah, just a small cold," He lied through his teeth. "What do you mean by tag along?"

"Like, can I come with you to your grandparents, for Christmas?"

"Weren't you going to Virginia?"

"Change of plans,"

"Oh..." Xavier trailed, remembering the conversation he had overheard. "Oh... sure,"

"Great, when do we leave?"

"After I've had breakfast," He informed, scratching his nape. "We'll take my buddy's truck,"

"All right, I'm going to go pack and then I'll meet you here?"

"Sure,"

When Tessa went back to her apartment, everyone was getting ready to leave, Charlotte asking about her packing and when she thinks they could leave, and she informed them she'd be spending Christmas with her boyfriend. The Robertson family looked taken aback but didn't pry before they head out, leaving Tessa alone to pack up before returning to Xavier's place.

Before leaving, she called Daniel, letting him know they were leaving while he told her the same they were heading out for Virginia.

Their drive had initially begun with silence, but then Xavier asked her why she changed her plans and Tessa told him. She told him how Daniel thought she should take their relationship to the next level and that he was infuriating and had no right to demand that of her, and the more Xavier listened to her talk about him, the more he realized, she was in love with him, but was just too blind to see it.

Eventually, Tessa fell asleep after their lunch stop and Xavier drove in a silence which allowed him time to think and come to a very important conclusion.

Tessa awoke when the car stopped moving, surprised to find the sun setting and reminding her of the first time she had come to Virginia with Daniel, a bad taste infiltrating her mouth at the thought.

"We're here?" She yawned and stretched in her seat, rubbing her eyes before looking around her, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion to realize that she was, in fact, in Virginia and standing outside Charlotte and Andrew's farm. "Xavier-?"

"-I have to say something," He halted her, staring at the needle on the speed-o-meter. "I think we should see other people,"

Tessa stared at him in silence for two long minutes, acutely aware of the fact he wouldn't even turn to meet her gaze.

"Can I ask why?" She asked him slowly, not understanding exactly what was going on.

"I'm not the one for you, Tessa," He shook his head. "I'm not, those shoes are too big for me to fill,"

"What-?"

"-I'll helps you with your bags," He stepped out of the car and went to the back, Tessa following him and watching him take them out before setting them by the gate, pawing at his bangs and looking up at her from beneath his lashes. "I'm sorry, Tessa, but it's better this way,"

With that said, he got into the truck and drove away, leaving Tessa to stand there stunned for a minute before she took hold of her bag and made her way up the driveway, standing before the door and knocked.

Lucas was the one to open the door, laughter ringing out behind him as he looked up at her with his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear?" He asked in confusion, not understanding what she was doing here. "Everything all right?"

"I think I got dumped," She looked up at him, watching his intimidating features soften and his lips forming an O.

"Uh... Danny!" He called over his shoulder, moving aside to let her in and she watched Daniel sit up on the sofa he was lying on, everyone looking at her as she walked inside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He instantly knew something was off, beckoning her forward as she came and sat down beside him.

"Xavier just broke up with me,"

A turmoil of words and consolidation swam around the room, but Tessa heard none of it instead, she focused on Daniel, waiting for him to say something.

"Hey, ma?" He called over his shoulder. "Can you make some hot chocolate, it will be a long night,"